Joseph f



o 88,675. Patented April 6, 1869.

NA PETERS Plwwliu 5 a @Staten @anni @fitta JOSEPH F. STOKE S, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

' Lette/rs .Patent No. 88,675, dated A12/ril 6, `1869. l

To all whom 'it 'may conce/r11,

Be it known that I, JOSEPH F. Sroxns, of` the city of Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, and' State of Pennsylvania, have 'invented a new and improved Self-Propelling Railway-Oar; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexactdescription of the construction and operation of the same, ref-,- erence being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figure lis a side elevation of my improved selfpropelling ralway-car, with one of the car-wheels removed Figure 2 is, a plan view of same.

Figure 3 ia a sectional viewl of iig. 2, on the line A-B.

Figure 4 is a sectional view, enlarged', of one of' the axles, with its springs and gearing.

-The object of my invention is to construct the runring-gear of a railway-car so that the' same will be selfpropelling.

The power employed for operating the car consists of a coiled spring, arranged on the axles, which revolves them, and communicates motion to the Wheels, the mechanism and operation being more fully described hereinafter.

The framing of the car is constructed in thev usual manner, and consists of side pieces s and s', end pieces e and c', and braces a and a.

0n the sides sA and s', at proper distances apart, are placed vsets of pedestals, 11,11*, p2, and p3.

Placed and Working in pedestals p, at the front of the frame, is an axle,l A, on which are placed car-wheels of ordinary construction.

Secured on and in the centre of the axle A, is a pinion P.

The axle A is enclosed, from near its ends, to the pinion P, by tubes T and T, the said tubes being made suciently large to allow the axleto turn freely in them.

On each side of the pinion P, and secured on the tubes T and T by means of set-screws, are spur-wheels S and S.

The outer ends of the tubes T aud'T have secured to them coiled springs G and G', the said springs being also secured to the inner side of the barrels, or disks B and B', which are placed inside of the car-wheels,

and enclose the springs.

Secured to the inner side of -braces a and a, are liron` straps I and 1 each being made with an oiset, in order to bring the lower ends, which encircle the tubes T and T', as near the spur-wheels S and S as possible, thus serving as bearings for the tubes, and preventing friction on the axle.

Passing through and working in pedestals p, is a shaft, H, bearing on it a loose spur-wheel, S2, which gears with the pinion P.

Tubes, or collars are shrunk on the shaft H, o n each side of the spur-Wheel S2, on which are feathered two shifting-pinions, N and N'.. The said pinions gear with the spur-wheels S and S, and also connect with the spur-wheel S2, by means of clutches formed on their hubs.

The pinions N and N are'thrown in and out of gear by means of levers L and L', the ends of which pro- `ject a short distance beyond 'the front of the car, and are operated by means of a lever, R, or a crank, K;

vThe teeth on the spur-Wheels S and S1 are each provided with a pawl, land l', which drops into them, and are thrown in and out of contact with the teeth by means of handles h and h. In building a full-size machine, thebarrels B and B should be fully enclosed, in order to prevent snow, ice, or dirt from passing in them and choking up the springs. In describing my invention, it has been found only necessary to speak of thev mechanism for operating the front Wheels ofthe car, as an exact counterpart is used for operating the rear ones.

The gearing operating the rear wheels of the car should be arranged so that motion will be given to them inV the same direction as the front wheels.

The spur-Wheels and pinions at the rear oi the car are thrown in and ont of gear from the front of the car,

' by means of levers, or rods, not represented in the drawing.

Operation.

A crank is applied to either end of the shaft H, which are made square for the purpose.

The pinions N and N have, in the mean time, been placed in gear with the spur-Wheels S and S1, by means of the lever R or crank K.

Power is now applied to the crank, which communicates motion to the spur-wheels Sand Sl by means of the pinions N and N'.

The spurwheels being secured to' the tubes T and T', to which the springs G and C' are also secured, they (the springs) are thus compressed, or wound up.

vThe pawls l and l hold the spur-wheels, and prevent the springs from running down.

The clutches on the 'pinions N and N are now brought in contact with the spur-wheel S2, and the pawls l and l removed from the teeth of the wheels S and S.

The springs Gand G will immediately commence to expand and turn the tubes T and T, carrying with them the spur-wheels S and S1, which gear with and turn the pinions N and N and shaft H. The spur-wheel S2 being now in contact with the pinions N and N', by means of the clutches, consequently it will also receive motion, and communicate it 'to the pinion P and the axle A, to which the pinion is secured.

The car-wheels being secured to the axle, are thu turned, andthe car propelled forward.

Having thus described my invention, its construction and operation, l

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The arrangement of theaxle A, pinion l), tubes T and T', spur-Wheels S and S, pawls Z and l', coiled springs C andG, barrels, or disks B and B', straps I and I', on the front and rear of the oar, and constructed to be operated by devices, substantially in the manner and for the purpose specified.

2. In combination with the above, the arrangement of the shaft H, spur-Wheel S2, shifting-pinions N and N', levers L and L', lever R, and crank K, substantially as and for theJ purpose set'forth. 

